How I Launched My Crowdfunding Campaign

This week, I launched a
crowdfunding campaign with IndieGoGo for my short film
"Asha,” featuring Manu Dhingra, a friend
and 9/11 survivor who suffered second-and third-degree burns to
40% of his body after escaping from the World Trade Center.

The documentary captures Dhingra’s battle with post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), and how he discovered a passion for
cooking that has aided his recovery and contributed to his sense
of hope.

Our primary goal is to get millions of people to watch this
seven-minute film. In order to do that, we need to raise money.
We have a small budget, only $5,000, from what we hope is a large
number of people motivated to help make “Asha” come to life.

Here’s my advice for anyone considering this method of financing.

1. Pick a crowdfunding site to work with

Two of the most popular are IndieGoGo and Kickstarter. There’s also the
lesser-known Invested.in. We chose to go with IndieGoGo because
we wanted to be able to keep any money raised for the project
regardless of meeting our goal. IndieGoGo keeps 9 percent of the
total raised for projects that don’t meet the goal. Kickstarter
projects receive nothing when they don’t meet their goal.
Projects that meet their goals pay IndieGoGo a 4 percent fee;
Kickstarter a 5 percent fee. We’re bootstrapping, so 1 percent
adds up when you’re talking thousands of dollars.

Another advantage: IndieGoGo doesn’t have an approval process
like Kickstarter. Users can start right away. Instead, IndieGoGo
has a risk-management system that aims to identify fraudulent
campaigns.

I also appreciate how much control projects have over their
success. With hard work getting the word out, projects raise
their “GoGoFactor,” and a prominent display on the IndieGoGo
homepage.

2. Decide if your campaign needs fiscal
sponsorship

IndieGoGo partnered with Fractured
Atlas and the San
Francisco Film Society, which sponsor campaigns that are
seeking tax-deductible contributions. We were approved for fiscal
sponsorship with Fractured Atlas. But ultimately, we came to a
similar conclusion: after speaking with IndieGoGo’s CEO Slava
Rubin, we decided that given our small monetary goal, it would be
too complicated tax-wise to manage receipts and reports for
people donating anywhere from $50 to $100.

3. Engage the public with your story

Use IndieGoGo’s Customer Happiness Team, a 24-hour response unit
(support@indiegogo.com), to go over your campaign
profile before posting. (Once it’s posted there are many things
you can’t change.) We learned we were too focused on creating a
beautiful trailer (which you can watch here), and not engaging enough with the public to
express our passion for the project.

“Spend 20 seconds before the trailer where you share your story,
and again for 10 seconds after,” says IndieGoGo’s film business
developer Adam Chapnick. “Make it more personal about you, the
team and why you’re doing this.”

4. Don’t be afraid to ask people directly for
money

This is a tough one. We all tend to beat around the bush.

“You want to be direct and not dance around your objective,” says
Rubin. “You need to be clear with your ask. It’s ‘We’ve got one
week left to hit our goal, and we 're working around the clock to
reach it with your contributions.’ If you want the world to see
the film, you need to tell them how they can help by actively
spreading the word and telling them how much money you need to
take the film to the next level.”

5. Extend your reach to interest groups related to your
project

Think inside and outside the box. “Asha” is about a 9/11 survivor
with PTSD who went to culinary school. So we’re reaching out to
groups related to the September 11th Memorial, PTSD
organizations, firefighters, veterans, restaurants and cooking
and food groups. We’re connecting with Indian groups, Chilean
groups, anything relating to any towns we’ve lived in or gone to
school in.

6. Reward those who donate

Rubin says to offer small, medium and large donation levels, and
create perks for the highest donors. “Categories too close in
price tend to backfire,” he says. “People are willing to spend
more when they’re farther apart but close to the amount they feel
comfortable giving.”

This film touches on Dhingra’s culinary school education and
ownership of a restaurant, so we are offering "large" donors a
seat at a private screening and dinner, hosted by Dhingra and
guest chef Lisa Giffen of Alain Ducasse’s
Adour restaurant.

Also, the Fashion Institute of Technology, where Dhingra was
president of his undergraduate class, is donating its auditorium
to screen “Asha” on September 11, 2011. It’s planning a program
that morning around the film along with a citywide walk. Everyone
who donates to the “Asha” campaign is invited to the special
event and guaranteed a seat.

7. Run your campaign for as long as you’re willing to
work at raising money and awareness

Our campaign will last just 31 days. Most projects run around 60
to 70 days, but the real money is made in the first few weeks
because that’s when people put in the most effort to get the word
out. For us, it’s more sustainable to dedicate full-time
promotion over a 30-day period.

We’ll also be taking full advantage of our Facebook
and Twitter
pages, as well as including the campaign information in our
e-mail signatures. According to Rubin, we shouldn’t fear
inundating people.

“If 10 people tell you you’re e-mailing too much, then you are
e-mailing too much,” says Rubin. “But you’ll maybe hear from one
person and that’s it. You have to constantly give updates. People
don’t read your messages and see your updates all at the same
time.”